Editor’s note: Since Operation Smile’s founding in 1982, delivering safe surgery to people living with cleft conditions in low-resource settings around the world has been – and will continue to be – its driving force.

But as the organization expanded into more and more places of dire need, it has been met by the devastating effects of hospitals operating with inadequate infrastructure and equipment.

Fueled by the foundational belief that everyone in need of surgery deserves exceptional care, Operation Smile is applying its expertise in treating cleft conditions to create sustainable solutions that will bring safe and essential surgery to people where it’s needed most.

In rural northeastern Nicaragua, this life-saving work is already underway through a pilot project called Cirugía para el Pueblo – “Surgery for the People.” For deeper context on the problems that this initiative is addressing, follow this link to watch the video and read more.

Men, women and children are coming to the hospital in Siuna, Nicaragua, to receive care that wasn’t available to them a few years ago.

These patients are experiencing new methods of treatment and healing with the hospital’s high-quality facilities and advanced training of its medical staff.

But it hasn’t always been this way.

Throughout his 18 years as a general surgeon and intestinal endoscopy specialist in the community, Dr. Tyrone Valle has gained crucial knowledge of the detrimental impacts that can occur with not having proper medical supplies for patients.   

“To say to someone, ‘I can’t do this, not because I do not have the ability, but because I do not have the equipment,’ makes one feel useless,” Dr. Valle said. 

But he, along with other medical professionals, have become a part of a pilot project called Cirugía para el Pueblo – “Surgery for the People.” With support from the UBS Optimus Foundation, Operation Smile and Nicaragua’s Ministry of Health are working together at the two primary hospitals in Siuna and Bonanza. By joining forces, Operation Smile and the Ministry of Health seek to improve the surgical infrastructure of the hospitals and to spread awareness about surgically treatable conditions to the people of northeastern Nicaragua.

This project has resulted in more patients receiving safe surgery by providing doctors like Dr. José Ramon Silva with cutting-edge laparoscopic equipment. As a surgeon with laparoscopic training, Dr. Silva recognizes the significance of having these surgical tools in the hospital. 

“The laparoscopic equipment is a big step in our region,” Dr. Silva said. “It makes us the only primary hospital in the country to provide this kind of surgery.”

But this technology is altering more than the lives and capabilities of doctors – it’s transforming the way patients heal.

For Xiomara, her recovery from gallstone surgery was shorter and less painful because she had access to these advancements from Surgery for the People. A year ago, she would have had a large wound and need to stay in the hospital for three to five days after her operation.

Today, patients like Xiomara are undergoing less invasive procedures and returning home to their families and loved ones the day after surgery.  

“I feel happy because I will see my child and my family soon,” she said. “I will tell people who are not aware of the service at the medical center to come here and not travel so far if they need surgery."

With new doctors being trained and fewer patients being turned away, more lives are being saved.

Dr. Valle said, “The dream of being able to say, ‘Yes, I can do it. Yes, I can resolve this,’ gives you great personal and professional satisfaction.”